How to DEFINITELY Delete a Rogue Windows Service

So there I was, writing code for a new article, which involves an optional Windows service component, and I was trying to make the service self-installable without having to use installutil.exe. Well I got to the point were I was tready to try it, and there was a problem installing it. No worries, I thought. I'll just uninstall it, try to find the problem, and then try installing it again. Imagine my reaction when the log revealed that there was a problem uninstalling as well (which I was trying to do via the same binary).

I tried for an hour to get the damn thing uninstalled, but it wouldn't budge. I was starting to have visions of having to reinstall Windows to get rid of it.

Google to the rescue! I found that typing the following at the command prompt actually removed the service:

sc delete service_name

Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy was right. Don't Panic (and thanks for the fish).